Weekend Summer Surrival Treats!

The weekend can be a real stickler for people, if you are trying to lose weight or trying to live a healthier lifestyle. The temptations are there especially now its summer time. Every weekend there are invites for party’s and BBQ’s, so here I have come up with a few quick and easy ‘Healthy’ recipes to keep you on your merry way. And as always Y.O.L.O Guys and Dolls after all life is for living, isn’t that why you chose this new lifestyle!!

No bake quick and easy, Vanilla and Lime Cheesecake with fresh Cherries set in a raspberry glaze.

1 1/2 sachets of Gelatin or Agar Agar which is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

The zest and juice of two limes.

Juice of half a lemon.

6 tbsp of sweetener.

1 tsp of vanilla extract or the seeds of 1/2 a vanilla pod.

1/2 sachet of sugar free raspberry Jelly.

2 punnets of fresh seasonal cherries.

Method

In a small saucepan melt the 35g of butter while you crush the digestive biscuits.

Add the melted butter to the biscuits and add to a 9 inch spring form tin, pressing firmly to the edges and place in the fridge while you make the topping.

For the topping add the cream cheese, vanilla and sweetener to a bowl and mix well using a hand mixer.

Then add the yogurt, zest and juice of the lemon and lime and stir well.

Make up the gelatin/Agar Agar according to the packet leave to cool and add into the mixture and beat for 1 minute so all the ingredients are combined well.

Place the topping on the biscuit base and leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours.

When the cheesecake is just set, make up the 1/2 sachet of raspberry sugar free jelly and leave to cool.

Now you have the tedious job of halving and taking the stones out of the cherries but I promise it is worth it for the final reveal. If you don’t fancy this then use a punnet of fresh raspberry’s they work just as well.

So by now the cheesecake will have set, the raspberry jelly will have cooled and you can now pour it on top, if you find you have too much omit some because you just want a thin layer to set your cherries into.

This was one of my all time favorite desserts and I recently made it for a taster night we had at my slimming club, it was a big hit and it is a fabulous treat to bring to a party or a summer evening BBQ.

Add the mixture to the egg whites and gently fold in using the figure of eight mixing technique. (TIP) Add a tablespoon of the egg whites into the coco mixture and beat in this will help to stabalise the egg white when adding in the dense mixture.

Bake @ 180c for 20 minutes.

You can also make this as a cake and top with a low calorie chocolate orange ganache.

‘Fakeaway’ Babybel Burgers in a bowl.“Makes two whoopers”

Ingredients

200g Extra Lean minced beef less than 5% fat. (free)

Very finely diced onion (superfree)

1 mushroom very finely diced. (Superfree) this adds moistness as there is little or no fat in the mince.

1 tbsp. of Worchester sauce. (free)

Salt and pepper to taste. (free)

2 Babybel light (hexa) or (2syns each)

Burger Sauce

1 tbsp. of extra light mayo

1 tsp of Tesco chili sauce

1 tsp of sweet chili sauce

1 tsp of ketchup

½ clove of grated/crushed garlic

Method

In a bowl add the extra lean mince, onion, mushroom, Worchester sauce, salt and pepper. Mix all of the ingredients to thoroughly disperse throughout and combine.

Take approx. 50g of mince and make a small patty, next place 1 Babybel on top then take another 50g of mince shape into a patty and place on top.

Smooth the edges with your fingertips to ensure there are no gaps for the cheese to leak out while cooking. Repeat the process for the next burger.

Spray both sides with fry light and place on a griddle/frying pan.

Tips

I like to serve my burgers topped with 1 tsp of American yellow mustard and with a salad made from Iceberg/Cos lettuce, chopped gherkins and very finely diced white onion with drizzled burger sauce on top. I also make a portion of slimming world chips for the full effect. Enjoy 😉

You can also make this by just frying some extra lean mince onion, garlic, salt and pepper and serve it over the lettuce, for what I like to call my burger in a bowl, it is amazing and I promise you it has all the flavor and doesn’t even being to compare to the amount of calories that most high-street takeaway outlets have. They are also fabulous thrown on the BBQ, they get a lovely charred smokey flavor and brilliant to make and bring with you if you don’t want to ruin your good week.

As always guys and dolls have fun, be happy, enjoy yourself, life is for living, time will pass and you will be so glad you enjoyed yourself on your amazing weight-loss journey. Have a fabulous weekend!!